In the 19th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held in October 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping not only had been reelected as the Chairman of the Party’s Central Military Commission (CMC), but also successfully amended the CCP Constitution and introduced the “CMC Chairman Responsibility System,” (軍委主席負責制) and fully concentrated his power as the true commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Since assumed his leadership of the CCP and the CMC in November 2012, Xi had made “obey the Party's command,” (聽黨指揮) “can fight and win,” (能打勝仗) and “maintain excellent conduct” (作風優良) as the 3 primary requirements of the PLA to ensure the fulfillment of the “strong Army dream” (強軍夢) in support of the realization of “the Chinese Dream” (中國夢) of the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” (中華民族偉大復興).

The above mentioned three requirements for the PLA have reflect the very rationality of Xi Jinping’s “deepening defense and military reform” (深化國防與軍隊改革), and the benchmarks for his philosophy of choosing next generation leaders in the PLA. In other words, combating factionalism, increasing jointness, reducing corruption, and instilling loyalty to Xi Jinping have become the priorities in Xi Jinping’s military reform agenda.